Chesapeake Health brings groundbreaking cancer treatment technology to Hampton Road

June 13, 2005 — On June 23, Chesapeake Health officially opens its newly remodeled and expanded Sidney M. Oman Cancer Treatment Center with a 5:15 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house.

With the opening, Hampton Roads cancer patients will have access to some of the most sophisticated cancer-fighting technology in the country. A $2 million linear accelerator, equipped with Image Guided Radiation Therapy, has been added to the center. The latest innovation in radiation treatment, the technology is so cutting-edge, only two other facilities in the country – and none other in Hampton Roads – have it.

With IGRT technology, physicians can target a tumor more precisely prior to administering radiation therapy by using patient positioning devices and imaging tools. As a result, patients have higher cure rates and lower side effects from radiation therapy.

The new accelerator is also equipped with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy software that provides physicians with a three-dimensional view to link the treatment’s plan with the accelerator that delivers a dose. In addition, it is outfitted with a “multileaf collimator,” or dozens of metal “leaves” that move during treatment. With this combination, physicians can determine and deliver just the right dose of radiation needed for each specific patient and each specific tumor.

As part of the $5 million renovation and expansion project, the treatment center’s existing linear accelerator has also been retrofitted with the IMRT and its multileaf collimator.

Within a few months, the treatment center will add another innovative form of radiation therapy to its line of services. In brachytherapy, radioactive sources are sent directly into the cancerous site to deliver a concentrated dose of radiation to specific tumors. CGH will join a handful of facilities in the area that offer the minimally invasive procedure.

It is routinely used to deliver internal radiation to cancer-blocked airways, gynecological cancers, prostate cancer, esophagus cancer and other areas that require an internal concentration of radiation.

Another new initiation will bring an American Cancer Society employee to the center to serve as part of the center’s staff. Patients will have access to the society’s services on site.

Chesapeake Health’s expansion project began last July. With its completion, the Oman center is double its original size. Private consultation rooms, exam rooms and offices have been added, and the patient resource center relocated to a serene foyer area overlooking a reflecting pond. A chemotherapy suite has also been added to the center, complete with a wall of windows and four treatment stations – each equipped with a recliner and flat-screen TV.

The Oman cancer treatment center initially opened in 1995 to offer a full range of care for cancer patients within a hospital setting. Now, with its recent acquisitions and added space, cancer patients will have access to the most emerging treatments in the most modern facilities available.

“It’s a new chapter of cancer care for citizens of Hampton Roads,” said Dr. Mathew Sinesi, the center’s medical director. “This degree of technology and personalized patient care is unmatched not only in Hampton Roads but anywhere in the country. There’s no reason for our patients to go anywhere else for anything. We’ve got the best right here.”